The growth of the Kale should be promoted by all legitimate means, and in high summer it will take water, liquid manure, and mulchings of rich stuff, to almost any extent, with advantage. The irrigation that suits the Kale will probably also suit the stolen crop, but irrigation is not good for Onions or Potatoes; where these crops are grown care must be exercised to bestow the fluid on the Sea Kale only.
As the leaves decay in autumn they should be removed, and the ground kept thoroughly clean. When finally cleaned up, let it be forked over, but with care not to put the tool too near the plants; and if manure is plentiful, lay down a coat for a finish, or fork it in at the general clear up. There should now commence a systematic saving of clean leaves. Mere vegetable rubbish is not to be thought of. Proceed to cover the ground with leaves in heaps or ridges sufficient to make a coat finally of about one foot deep, or say nine inches at the very least. If there is any store of rough planking on the premises, let the planks be laid on the ridges of leaves on whichever side the prevailing wind may be. This will prevent the leaves being blown away, and the planks will be handy for the next stage in the business.
At the turn of the year put the planks on edge by driving posts down in any rough way that will hold them firmly for a brief season, and then spread the leaves equally. If there are not sufficient leaves to cover the bed for the requisite thickness, raise a good heap over each crown, and sprinkle a little earth to keep the heap together. But a better mode of procedure is to have a sufficiency of Sea Kale pots with movable covers, or in place of these large flower-pots, or old boxes. Put these over the crowns, and then heap the leaves over and around, and the preliminaries are completed. A very early growth will be the result, and the quality will be finer than that of forced Sea Kale. Uncover occasionally to see how the crop goes on, remembering that perfect darkness is needed to blanch it completely, and to produce a plump and delicate sample. Cut close over, taking a small portion of the woody part of the crown, and when all the growth of a crown is taken, remove the pot or box, but leave a thin coat of leaves on the cut crown to protect it, as at the time of cutting Sea Kale keen east winds are prevalent, and it is unfair to the plants to expose them suddenly. When the crop has been taken, remove the leaves and the planks, and dig in between the rows a thick coat of fat manure. The growth will be too strong now for a stolen crop, and will so continue for many years. After the crop has been secured, each crown will throw out a number of buds or shoots. These should all be removed except two or three of the strongest, which will form the crowns for cutting in the following year. At the same time take away any small blanched shoots that may have been left because they were too small or insignificant for table use. This proceeding will prevent the production of flower-stems, which is injurious to the plant, and there never need be any fear that the crop will be diminished, because plenty of buds around the crowns, that do not show themselves in the first instance, will come forward in due time.
Forcing.—It is so easy to force Sea Kale that the cultivator may safely be left to his own devices. But it will be well, perhaps, to say that perfect darkness is requisite, and the temperature should not exceed 60° at any time, this being the maximum figure. A rise above 60° will produce a thin or wiry sample. It is sufficient to begin with a temperature of 45°, and to rise no higher than 55°, to insure a really creditable growth. The market growers are not very particular as to temperature, but then they do not eat the crop, or know much of it after it has left their hands. With the gardener in a domestic establishment the case is different; and we venture to advise young men—to whom book advice is often valuable as entailing no obligations—that Sea Kale slowly forced may be nearly as good as that grown under pots in the open without any heat at all; better it cannot be. Any spare pits or odd places may be made use of for this crop, provided only that the heat is not too great. Pack the roots in mould or leaves, or even half-rotten manure, and shut them up to exclude light, and the crop will be ready in five or six weeks, unless forcing is commenced very early, in which case seven weeks at least must be allowed from the time of planting to that of the first cutting. Roots that have been lifted for forcing should be thrown away when the crop has been secured, but roots forced in the open ground suffer so little by the process that they may be forced for several years in succession ere it becomes necessary to renew the plantation, provided, of course, that the work is well done. The outdoor forcing is accomplished in the way described for growing the crop, with the aid of leaves only, but with certain differences. In the first place, care must be taken to let the plants feel the cold, but at the same time to prevent the ground becoming frozen. A touch of frost will render them more ready to grow when the cultivator brings his persuasions to bear by heaping hot manure over the pots, and covering the bed with a thick coat of the same. This is all that can be done, but it is sufficient. In cases where leaves and other suitable materials are not available, good Sea Kale may be grown by simply raising over each crown a heap of sand or sifted coal ashes, provided some clean material be interposed to keep the sand or ashes from actual contact with the plant. When this heap begins to crack at the top it will be worth while to examine it at the bottom, when there will be found a fine head of blanched Sea Kale, and the mound will have served its purpose.
To grow Sea Kale from seed is a simple matter enough, but there is a loss of a year as compared with growing it from roots. The ground should be rich and well worked, and the seed sown in March or April in drills one foot asunder if for planting out, or in patches about two and a half feet apart each way if to remain. It is believed by many that Sea Kale should stand where sown, and we admit that analogies are in favour of the proposal. But every year such fine produce is obtained from transplanted roots that we have not the courage to condemn a course of procedure which may not be theoretically correct. The fact is, the root is tough and enduring, and suffers but little by moderate exposure to the atmosphere if handled in a reasonable manner. But to return to the seeds: they sprout quickly, and, soon after, the plants make rapid progress. Let them have liberal culture, keep them scrupulously clean, and thin in good time. If quite convenient, give a light sprinkling of salt occasionally in the summer: they will enjoy it, and the leaves will not be injured in the least.
SHALLOT
Allium ascalonicum
The old-fashioned mode of culture is to plant on the shortest, and lift the crop on the longest, day; but that is only applicable to the milder parts of the country. As a rule, spring is the best time for planting, and it should be done as early as the ground can be got into working order—certainly not later than the middle of April. The soil should be in a friable condition, and it must be trodden firmly, after the manner usual for an Onion bed. Merely press the bulbs into the soil to keep them in position, and put them in rows one foot apart, and nine inches apart in the rows. They should not be earthed up, but, on the contrary, when approaching maturity the soil should be drawn away so as to expose the bulbs, for this facilitates the ripening process.
To store the roots for any length of time it will be necessary to have them well ripened, and this point demands consideration. If dry weather could be insured for harvesting the crop, it might be allowed to finish in the ground; but as this cannot be relied on, it is a wise precaution to lift the crop on some suitable opportunity before it is quite ready, and allow the ripening to be completed in a protected airy place.